Spectral analysis of effects of annealing on the characteristics of intrinsic SnO2 polycrystalline thin films

In order to improve the conversion efficiency of the CdTe solar cells, it is necessary to decrease the thickness of CdS layer. However, the decrease in CdS thickness may lead to adverse effects on the solar cells. Therefore, a high-resistance transparent layer (intrinsic SnO2) has been used as a buffer layer between the transparent conducting oxide (TCO) and CdS layer. In the present paper, SnO2 polycrystalline thin films were prepared by magnetic reactive sputtering. The properties of the films before and after annealing were studied by XRD and XPS. The results revealed that the films annealed at 550 degrees C for 30 minutes are polycrystalline SnO2 with a single phase of tetragonal structure and have orientation of (110) direction. XPS investigation shows that after annealing the oxygen content of the film increases, Ols peak shifts to lower energies, and SnO is oxidized into SnO2, After annealing the intrinsic SnO2 films of high-resistance as a buffer layer are very suitable for the CdTe solar cells.